Saturday, May 21, 2016
Identifying Local Opportunities
1) Red Tide Strikes Pinellas
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15C2F3235D07F608?p=AWNB
A large red tide bloom has been found on the coasts of Pinellas county. Red tide kills and poisons fish/sea life. In addition it can cause respiratory issues for people in the surrounding area. If someone already has repository problems, such as asthma, red tide can cause severe illness. This presents a problem to all beachgoers (natives of Pinellas or tourists), as well as the wildlife.
2)Facebook Post Exaggerates Discrepancy Between US Men's and Women's Soccer Teams
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15C1B0E8F212D900?p=AWNB
This article addresses the wage gap in between the Men vs Women national soccer teams. It explains that because the two teams receive payments in much different ways that it is hard to actually compare. The women brought in around 5.8 million more this past year that the men (26.8 million to 21 million). Another point worth noting is that the women had a world cup this past year while the men didn't have much besides the concacaf Gold cup. The men clearly average more, however it is based more on performance (they are not guaranteed anything). The women on the other hand receive a guaranteed base salary regardless of how they perform, and then receive bonuses on top of that for winning. The problem is the lack of wage equality (based on revenue brought in) for the usmnt and uswnt. This affects the players of both national teams.
3) Change Coming to Prep Sports
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15C0F79A2FF89420?p=AWNB
A new bill was proposed and passed that allows any student to transfer to any school in the state, but places limitations on whether they can partake in high school athletics after switching schools. If a student participated in that sports before they transfer then they would have to sit out for the rest of the year at there new school. There is also an approved list of accepted scenarios that wouldn't place restriction an the athlete (family moved because parents are in the military). The problem is that recruiting takes place in high school athletics far to often, and a solution has to be met to prevent schools from scouting and bringing in players from other schools. This affects students who will or might transfer high schools in the future as well as the team sports of the school receiving said student.
4) Our Energy Supplier Should Issue Annual-Reports on Sea Level Rise
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15CD008010E38450?p=AWNB
The effects of climate change are becoming more and more present every day. In this article Alan Farago is asking Nextra Energy and other cooperations to submit annual reports on the issue of sea level rise to all its shareholders.The main motivation is to send the message to the shareholders that these energy corporations know about the risks involved. The problem is that the sea level is drastically rising and Florida could end up under water eventually. This effects all the residents of Florida, especially the costal populations.
5) Does legal Marijuana Cause Deadly Car Wrecks? Numbers tell a story
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15CCCD2E628D0FF0?p=AWNB
With the recent legalization of weed in certain states, questions have come up regarding whether the use of marijuana has lead to increase in car accidents. "17 percent of Washington drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2014 had used marijuana recently". The problem is that weed may impair the drivers awareness and currently there is no method of prevention and punishment (like there is with blood alcohol tests). This effects all people who live in a state that has recreational or medicinal Marijuana.
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Beau,
ReplyDeleteOpportunity #2 is a real gem. This highlights the wage discrimination between men and women that exists everywhere. However in this case the women substantially outperformed the men. Usually that is the male argument that women do not perform better. I think there is a clear opportunity for someone to adjust the wage gap in favor of women. I'm sure statistics will bear that women's soccer has been more popular than men's soccer for years but yet they still receive less compensation.
Hi, Beau. I'm happy to learn about the topic you chose for Opportunity #3. I attended a high school with a population of about 3,000 students, but with a sub-par football head coach. So we ended up with a number of kids on the team with real talent, but the coach wasn't so great at using that talent. This resulted in all of our best players being recruited by other schools with great football programs, so my high school never had a good team, and thus new coach was never really warranted. I'm happy to see that this practice of high school sport recruiting is beginning to be punished.
ReplyDeleteBeau, first off your local opportunities are very interesting topics. The 1st one is something I have heard about and I think it is horrible that sea life is dying I am a big environmentalist and I absolutely hate hearing things like that. I always wonder if there is anything that we can do to help. I also thought the Facebook post about the gap between men and women soccer teams was also very intriguing. I have never really paid attention to the different ways the teams get paid just that one gets paid differently. I also thought affects marijuana has on driving was a cool study because everybody thinks it has no affects when in reality it does. 5th opportunityhttp://gabby0451.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteBeau,
ReplyDeleteMy belief for a long time has been that a device that could accurately measure THC levels in your blood was a prerequisite for legalization of marijuana. Much to my surprise, the voters of both the state's of Washington and Colorado decided that they had had enough with the government's double-edged-sword prohibition and took matters into their own hands. This device, however, will be a key component in persuading less progressive states into its legalization. The creation of such a device would probably be looking at an empire of money.
Great topics Beau. Topic 3 stood out to me in regards to allowing students to choose a public school of their choice. That is a great point you brought up about school athletics, but another thought I had is that I know in my area, there are many communities being built. Where are these students going to attend if the school in their boundaries are full and they do not have transportation to another school.
ReplyDelete